FAQs

What is a puzzlehunt? How do I solve these puzzles?

If you’ve never heard of puzzlehunts before, here’s a very brief summary: in a typical puzzle, you receive some information and have to extract an answer out of it, which is almost always an English word or phrase. Puzzles can come in many different forms; the only real commonality is that you usually receive no direct instructions, so it’s up to you to figure out how to make sense of the information you’re given.

If you are new to puzzles and are interested in seeing some examples, or if you’re looking for some practice, we recommend looking at puzzles from other online hunts such as Galactic Puzzle Hunt, REDDOThunt, Puzzle Potluck, the Caltech Puzzle Hunt, and Colby’s Curious Cookoff. Note, however, that the puzzles in DP Puzzle Hunt are significantly easier on average.

How long is the hunt? How many puzzles will there be?

There will be around 20 puzzles. However, this hunt is meant for teams that are relatively new to puzzlehunts: its peak difficulty is likely around the difficulty of level 2 puzzles from Colby’s Curious Cookoff.

Is there a metapuzzle?

Yes.

I think there’s a mistake in this puzzle!

Please describe the error in an email to [email protected], and we’ll try to correct it.

I’m stuck on a puzzle. What should I do?

Here are some general puzzle tips that might be useful:

• Thoroughly check the work that you’ve already done. Fixing a small mistake or incorrect assumption can greatly help with getting unstuck.
• Get fresh eyes on the puzzle, or conversely, take a break and look at something else.
• Consider what information you haven’t used yet.
• It can be useful to put everything you have into your favorite search engine.
• Have you tried...

Remember that after hints are released, you can also use them to get a nudge in the right direction.

Who’s running this hunt?

This Hunt is run by a group of puzzlers with varying amounts of experience solving and writing puzzlehunts, but which normally do so on different teams. (We’re still arguing about how exactly we want to describe ourselves. Check back later for more.)

Are there any prizes?

No.

Is there a physical component to the hunt? Will I ever need to be in a particular location to solve a puzzle?

No.

Is there a registration deadline?

No. You’ll be able to register until the hunt ends.

I have a question that’s not on this list!

Contact us at [email protected] and we’ll do our best to answer it.